A Psych nightmare
by Joan R Hamilton
Summary: I had a crazy dream after watchinge Psych's "Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark" and wanted to see if it'd make a good story. Basically, Shawn gets kidnapped. Please let me know how I can improve it. Shules pairing, rated T for violence/torture, no bad lang
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Psych characters (and I apologize if I butchered any of them ^.^) This is my first fan fic, and really one of the only stories I've ever really finished. Thank you for reading :)

**Chapter 1: Theft of a body**

It was a dark night when Shawn stealthily ran down the warehouse driveway. Hiding behind some large crates, he looked back at Gus, who did not want to follow. Shawn beckoned wildly to him to come down, and while Gus at first shook his head, he knew Shawn would win. Shawn always won. Gus looked around and quickly snuck down to Shawn.

"Look, Gus, they're already almost finished loading the van!" Gus looked to where Shawn was pointing and he saw the group of thieves they had been tracking for weeks. "This is our chance to finally bust them!" He looked at his watch. "Jules and Lassie aren't going to make it in time."

Gus knew what was coming next. "So what do you propose we do about it? You know these are highly trained killers, Shawn." Shawn looked around, desperate for a clue.

"Buddy, we have to distract them, even just for a few minutes. Maybe we can buy enough time for the cops to show up." Shawn started to get up.

"Shawn, no! We need to stay right here and wait for the police. You know you'll just get shot if you go down there!" Shawn ignored Gus, even though a voice in the back of his head said his friend was right. He just had to buy time.

The thieves, completely dressed in black head to toe like ninjas, were almost done loading boxes into a white, unmarked van. A second van, already loaded, took off. Shawn, praying this wouldn't blow up in his face, ran up.

"Hello, I'm Shawn Spencer, psychic detective with the SPBD. I know what you're doing and might I say, it's a brilliant plan." He noticed only two of the thieves stopped their work and focused on him.

One black clad figure whispered to the other, "Psychic?" The other one nodded and they both whipped out their guns. The first one told Shawn, "Get in the van." Just then, Gus ran up to Shawn and sirens were heard in the distance. The second thief cursed, looked at the first, who nodded, and they both fired at Shawn.

Shawn got a very bad feeling when he saw them whisper to each other, and felt the blood drain from his face at the sight of their guns. He was about to apologize and make up some excuse when they told him to get in the van. He got distracted by Gus suddenly being next to him, and then there was a loud noise and flash of light. Shawn felt himself fall, but he was unable to move. He guessed he'd been shot, though he had no idea where or how bad. He was completely paralyzed. He briefly saw Gus hover over him, freaking out, saying something Shawn couldn't hear. Then he saw Gus put his hands up and get shot in the arm. Shawn's vision blurred and went black.

"Gus! Gus! Are you alright?" Juliet O'Hara ran up to Gus, who was on his knees gripping his bleeding arm and staring off into the distance. _Too late_… he thought. _Just a minute too late…_ "Oh my god, you're bleeding! Gus, we have to get you to a hospital!" She called back to someone to call for an ambulance. She looked around and then it hit her. "Gus, where is Shawn?" Lassiter walked over to where Shawn had been shot and felt his blood run cold as he saw the puddle.

"Guster, you need to tell us what happened. Is this Spencer's blood?" Gus looked over and nodded. "So where is he?"

"They… they took him." His voice shook as he tried to tell them what had happened.

Shawn woke to an intense amount of pain in his lower abdomen and many pairs of hands holding him down. He tried to cry out, but his voice was hoarse as if he'd been screaming for hours. Just as the pain started to subside and pulsate, he saw a red hot metal rod approach his shoulder. Panic welled up in him and he tried to move despite the pain and he felt the hands press down even harder making any attempt at escape impossible. The metal rod made contact with his shoulder. At first it almost felt like ice, but it was the most painful ice he had ever felt. Tears streamed down his face as the darkness took him again.

At first Shawn wasn't sure if it was a dream, though it wasn't like he was going to complain. He woke up in a steaming bath room and a couple bikini clad women were gently bathing him with sponges. Everything was blurred by the steam and he felt so relaxed he fell asleep again. He awoke briefly in a bright white hospital room. Everything was so white and bright it almost hurt to open his eyes. He faded back out again.

He finally woke to reality, strapped to a metal operating table with a bright light shining down on him, making the surroundings black. He could barely tell there were people all around. One, holding surgical tools, walked over and saw him open his eyes.

"This is no good." She muttered. She looked up and asked, "Do we have any anesthetic? Or alcohol?" Shawn flinched and inwardly groaned when the he heard the reply: No.

"Wait, nurse, I have some brandy I can go get." He heard a faint voice call out. The nurse nodded and put her tools down while she waited. Shawn tried to move, even though he had pretty much figured escape would be impossible. He quickly found that even if he wasn't strapped down completely, the pain would have incapacitated him anyway. Why of all times could he not just slip back into the wonderful darkness? Before he knew it, brandy was poured onto his shoulder and then abdomen. He had expected it to burn, but it was a cooling sensation that brought relief. Too bad it didn't numb it so completely he couldn't feel the needle pierce his skin. He bit his lip to keep from crying out as the nurse stitched his wounds, more tears streaming down his face. He was awake for the shoulder stitching, but as soon as the nurse moved to his abdomen, he passed out again from the pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The revelations

Jules paced in the police department waiting for Chief Karen Vick to come in. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell the chief, but she knew it would be easier than telling Shawn's father, Henry, that his son might possibly be dead. Lassiter had told her, and the paramedics on the scene had confirmed, that with the amount of blood loss Shawn had experienced, if he hadn't gotten medical attention shortly after, he would be dead. She couldn't bear to think of that scenario. Shawn had to be alive.

The chief walked in, closely followed by Lassiter. "Good morning, detective. Let's talk in my office and you both can tell me exactly what happened." She shut the door and closed the blinds, then sat in her chair. "I understand Shawn Spencer is missing?" Jules nodded and proceeded to tell Chief Vick what Gus had told her, with Lassiter interjecting here and there. When they were done, the chief just sat there, stunned.

"And no one has informed his father, I assume?" Lassiter and O'Hara traded looks. "I'll take that as a no. I expect you both to go right away to let him know. Despite it being…" She looked at the clock and groaned. "…3 am. He would like to know." The detectives nodded and left.

A doorbell ringing at 3:30 in the morning sent a chill up Henry Spencer's spine. He hoped it was a wrong number or someone looking for their cat, but he knew in his gut something was wrong. He threw a robe on and ran downstairs. Seeing the detectives standing there with grim expressions told him what he needed to know, and all he could ask was, "…How?"

Jules quickly piped up, "We don't know that he's really dead, Mr. Spencer. At this point it's all speculation." Henry didn't look relieved. He motioned for the detectives to come in and they sat around the living room as Jules once again told the story.

Shawn wasn't sure how much time had passed from the time he'd been shot to his current waking state. They had him so doped up on pain killers and tranquilizers he spent most of his time in a blurred dream. This time was the most lucid he had felt in a while and took advantage of it to take in his surroundings. His room was bare, rectangular, with brick walls and a tiny window placed just under the ceiling opposite the door. Other than his bed and IV stand, there was nothing in the room. He looked down at his body. They had straps holding him down at the wrists, chest, and legs. He had no idea how they thought someone in his state could be a potential escapee. As he tested the straps, he felt the pain in his shoulder and abdomen. It was dulled heavily by the pain killers but it was still there.

The door quickly opened and there was a woman dressed in blue scrubs, her dirty blond hair tied up in a bun. "Good afternoon, Mr. Spencer." Her voice was chipper and bright and Shawn wasn't sure if he found it a nice touch after so much darkness, or just really annoying. He tried to think of something witty to say, but nothing came to mind.

"Hi." He managed to say. "So you know my name, but what's yours?" She flashed him a smile, showing almost too perfect white teeth.

"You can call me Meredith. I'm just here to check on how you're doing." She walked over to his IV and noted he still had plenty left before the bag change. "How are you feeling?"

"Still groggy but better."

"Yes, sorry about that. You'll gradually get less groggy. We're starting to cut back on your meds since it's been… oh, about 2 weeks now? You did have us worried there for a while!" Shawn stared at her in shock.

"2 weeks? I've been out for 2 weeks?" Meredith nodded. It looked like a lightbulb went off in Shawn's head and he blurted, "Gus! How is Gus? I saw him get shot!"

Meredith's smile dimmed. "Um, I think he's doing good. They don't really let us have contact with the outside. You're lucky you're psychic or they wouldn't have put so much effort into saving you. They must have some plan for you!" Shawn looked confused. "Oh, right, you don't have any idea still where you are or anything. Tell me what you do know."

Shawn closed his eyes and thought back. "Ok, Gus and I were following this smuggling ring for weeks, and we finally caught up with them. They were stealing crates of different electronic materials, as well as chemicals. I assumed bombs." Meredith giggled.

"Bombs? That is a good guess, but incorrect. I can't really tell you what's going on, but it's much more complex than that. If they do decide to use you, you will be told what you need to know, nothing more." She turned as if to leave, then paused. "Before I go, there is one thing I must check. Are you really psychic?" She reached out and put a hand to his head before he could think, and he was suddenly flung into darkness again. He heard a cold laugh.

"Oh, Shawn. You have the capability, always have, but you've never had it opened. Let me help you." He suddenly felt something *snap* in his head. "There you go. If you need any help, let me know." By the time he could see again, she was gone and he was so exhausted sleep overtook him again.

A little over two weeks had gone by and Jules hadn't given up hope. They had been searching every unmarked white van, every warehouse, but the smuggling ring and Shawn had completely vanished. She was sitting at her desk at home and remembered what the chief had mentioned that day.

"You know we can't continue to keep looking as hard as we are, we're getting behind in paperwork and the case loads are starting to get a little out of hand. We've had no leads, not even a sign, of these smugglers or Shawn. Until we do, I'm afraid I'm going to have to have you start on another case, detectives." Lassiter was silent but O'Hara protested.

"Chief, we can't just give up! This is Shawn!" Karen looked like she'd been losing sleep over the matter and replied tiredly.

"I know, O'Hara. We aren't giving up, it's just getting moved back a bit. If he's still alive I'm sure he'll let us know when he can." Jules was not satisfied with that. _If he's still alive…_ Those words echoed in her mind. What if he wasn't? The panic and depression she'd been pushing back welled up in her and consumed her as she sobbed into her arms on the desk.

Shawn woke up in a rush. He'd just dreamt about Jules and she was sobbing about him… being dead? He shook his head. _They can't believe that already, can they…?_ The thought that his friends might think him dead brought a new fear into his mind. _No chance for rescue._ He had to somehow get them to keep looking. But how? He knew his dad wouldn't give him, even if he thought Shawn was dead. He'd want at least the body. That brought little comfort to Shawn. What about Gus? Shawn knew his best friend wouldn't give up either.

The door opened and Meredith came in, fear on her face. "I'm sorry, Shawn…" She whispered hoarsely. Following her were many men in black body armor carrying large guns. Shawn suddenly got his first real vision, as he saw them chaining him in a small dark cell.

"Hey guys," Shawn tried sounding cheerful, but the men didn't react at all. Shawn continued to ramble silly banter as they wheeled his bed out the door and down the hall. Halfway down the hall he started faltering as fear started gripping him more. He blurted, "So where are we going? Some dark, dank cell where you guys are going to chain me up and torture me?" A few of the men exchanged glances, which told Shawn he was right. Shawn groaned inwardly. There had to be a reason for it. Maybe if he cooperated fully, they wouldn't be so hard on him.

They stopped at a door and unstrapped Shawn, taking out his IV. After having not really moved for so long, Shawn collapsed as soon as his feet hit the floor. "Whoa, sorry there, looks like I need to get back in shape!" He smiled at his captors despite the pins and needles he was suddenly feeling. His captors pretended he was just a rag doll and half carried, half dragged Shawn into the room and through another door. This time he was in the cell he had seen. They brought him to a bench at the edge of the room and left him. Despite it having been over two weeks, Shawn was still feeling pain in his abdomen, more than he thought he should be. He laid down to relieve the pain and contemplated what was going to happen next.

A sudden thought made him sit up, then groan. If he had been able to actually see the future, he wondered if he could somehow psychically tell Jules he was ok. He laid back down and thought about her. He thought about the way her lips were, her gentle happy eyes… Suddenly he saw her. She was just getting out of bed, her hair a mess. Seeing her brought such a longing to him, he just wanted to hug her and hold her, and be held by her. He tried speaking, but no sound came out. He seemed unable to move as well. So he pushed his thoughts and feelings toward her as best as he could figure out how, all his love, the pain of not being able to comfort her. At first nothing happened and Shawn's face fell, but then Jules turned sharply towards him.

"Shawn? Is that you?" She ran through the dark room, through Shawn, and stopped. "Oh Juliet…" She whispered. "What are you doing to yourself?" She sobbed and Shawn suddenly lost his grip and found himself back in the cell. He brought his knees carefully to his chest and cried.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Death Reigning

Almost four weeks had gone by since the incident when Chief Vick found a manila envelope on her desk addressed to her. She opened it cautiously and found a dvd and a letter inside. Karen unfolded the letter. "Dear peoples; Your search efforts for the psychic Shawn have not gone unnoticed. Enclosed is a dvd of video footage of him. We like to keep both video and written records of every mission and experiment we do. Here is an account of what has happened to one Shawn Spencer, Psychic detective." She sighed as she folded the letter back up. The chief hit the play button on the dvd player and a video of Shawn in a cell popped up dated 10 days prior.

Shawn was being put in shackles at his ankles, kneeling down with no shirt or shoes, and was wearing some formerly white hospital pants. They shackled his wrists to a chain hanging from the ceiling so they hung just above his head. His gunshot wounds were still noticeable. A man was standing in front of Shawn, dressed entirely in a black suit. As soon as Shawn was done being shackled, the jailers left.

"So this is the mighty psychic. We meet at last." The man's voice was cold, hard, and calculating.

"That's a little cliché, don't you think? You can't think of something more original to say?" Shawn flashed his cocky smile. It was met with a smirk.

"Your reputation really does precede you, Shawn." The man started pacing in front of Shawn. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here. Or, maybe you already know since you are psychic, after all." He turned sharply towards Shawn. "You _are_ psychic, right? Otherwise my former… associate… would not have spent so much effort making sure you survived."

Shawn realized something there. "Ok, so let me see if I'm correct here, but you were rivals with my original captor and have recently taken him out. Now you don't think you have any use for a psychic…?" The cold man smiled and nodded. He then turned towards the door, gave a short curt nod and the door opened. Two burly men dragged a very beaten man into the room and dumped him in front of Shawn and the man. Shawn gulped. "Ok. So, this is the man I need to thank for first shooting me, then saving me."

The cold man nodded. "This is Mr. Yun, formerly the head of that smuggling ring you ultimately helped me take over. Thank you for that." He kicked Mr. Yun, knocking him over, then whipped out a pistol. Mr. Yun was whimpering and shaking. "And Shawn, this is what happens with people I have no use for." A single shot was fired, straight into Mr. Yun's forehead. Turning to the muscled men, "Get him out of here." Shawn watched as they dragged the man's body out of the room, leaving a trail of blood. For once he was rendered speechless.

Turning back to Shawn, the suited man holstered his pistol. "So, psychic, tell me what I'm going to do next." Shawn smiled nervously, then suddenly closed his eyes as if in severe pain, drawing in a quick breath, clenching his teeth. After a brief moment, he opened his eyes wide and stared at the man in front of him, mouth open.

"No… no no no." Shawn started stammering. "You… you don't have to do this. I can be of use to you, just give me a chance!"

"You have until tomorrow, as I'm sure you already know." With that, the suited man left, leaving Shawn still shackled, and yelling. The video went black, then the words "Day 2" flashed on the screen. The chief paused it, uncertain about continuing, but decided it needed to be done.

Day 2 started with Shawn still shackled. It looked like he was asleep. Shortly after the clip started, the man in the suit entered the room.

"Good morning, psychic." He practically spat the word psychic. Shawn lifted his head, opening his eyes. "Are you ready for the games to begin?" Soon another man entered the room carrying a large bag, which he placed on the floor near Shawn and unrolled it revealing many sharp devices. It seemed obvious Shawn knew what was coming and wasn't trying to pretend to be tough.

"Just tell me one thing, _sir_. Why?" Shawn inquired. "I may have gotten a taste of what's about to come, but it didn't tell me why."

"I have no use for a psychic. But I do find it a waste to just, you know, shoot you. So my friend here has been trained to drag torture out for weeks on end and he hasn't had anyone to work on in a while. Who better than someone who already knows what's going to happen? He's not had something that seems like this much fun in a while."

"So… nothing can be said or done to change your mind. Great. Fine, fine then, why don't we just get started!" Shawn's voice started rising as his bravado broke. Chief Vick had a hard time watching when the torturer heated up a thin metal rod and slowly inserted it into Shawn's abdomen and through his back. The screams would haunt her for a very long time.

Karen fast forwarded, but days 3-7 were pretty much all the same. But she had to watch Day 8.

Day 8, Shawn's body was covered in small wounds and he felt like he'd been run over by twenty trains. Somehow his spirit had not yet completely broken, he wasn't sure how he was still holding on. Maybe it was thinking about Jules, and hanging on to a small hope that he might just get to see her again. And he didn't want to disappoint Gus or his dad. Heaven help him if he disappointed his dad, again. Hah. He smiled involuntarily, just a half smile. The door opening broke through his thoughts and brought him back to reality with a jolt. But it wasn't the torturer, it was the man in the suit.

"Shawn, you're a strong one. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our time together short. You see, some unforeseen circumstances…" He laughed at that. "Have come up. Yeah, I know, I have a psychic right here. Ironic." He pulled out his gun. "Unfortunately, while I should have used your abilities while I had the chance, nothing is going to save you now." The man seemed to have gone insane, if he hadn't been before. Shawn knew he didn't have much time and panic welled up in him once again. The nameless man walked behind Shawn and Shawn felt the barrel of the gun press up against his head.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Recovery

Chief Vick had called in her best, O'Hara, Lassiter, as well as Shawn Spencer's best friend and father. She figured they needed to know, but she wasn't sure if they'd want to see.

"I'm glad you two came." The chief motioned towards Gus and Henry. Addressing the room, she continued. "I wasn't sure how to tell you all. Let me first say that the tech department has already authenticated the video, as in they couldn't find any evident tampering."

"Oh get on with it!" Henry spouted. "Does this have to do with Shawn or what? Just play the dang thing!" The chief faltered for a second, then nodded.

"Yes, I suppose so." She turned around and hit play. Jules gasped when she saw Shawn shackled. There was a man in a black suit holding a gun to Shawn's head. Henry ran his hand over his face. There was some static on the video, then when it cleared up, the man shot Shawn. Blood splattered all over and his body went limp, his blood pooling around him. Gus ran out of the room in shock. Jules put her hands to her face and started crying. Henry was doubting the video. After the footage went black, a note appeared stating that they could find the body in the Skofield Park area.

Chief Vick cleared her throat. "I've already sent a couple black and whites up there to check it out. We're just waiting to hear back from them."

"I'm going to go help look." Henry stated, walking out. The chief let him leave.

Juliet wiped her eyes, "I'm going to go help, too. The more people we have up there, the quicker we find him." Carlton nodded and said he would go too.

Shawn had felt the barrel at his head and the crazy man continued on his rant that had turned into nonsense. He got so caught up in his rant, that he didn't even notice the door open and Meredith sneak in. Shawn acted like he didn't see her, praying she would get the lunatic away from him.

She sidled up to the man and put a hand to his head. He collapsed in a heap and Meredith was able to grab his keys. "Shawn! I'm sorry I wasn't able to get to you sooner. Are you alright?"

"I will be now, just hurry up and get me loose, my hands are really numb right now!" She unlocked his ankles first, then his wrists. He hugged his arms to his body in pain as the blood flowed back into them. She quickly took an alcohol soaked cotton swab, wiped down below his right shoulder and stuck a needle in him before he could complain.

"Ow! What was that for? Am I not in enough pain as it is?" As the medicine went through his body, he started feeling dizzy and looked at her with an expression of betrayal.

"It's morphine. I figured you were in too much pain to travel very fast and we must do this quickly. The dizziness you're probably feeling will fade as your body uses the morphine up." He noted she was right, he was in pain, and the morphine was certainly starting to help. He slowly got up and tried stretching his legs a little, trying to get them used to moving again.

"Well let's get a move on it, this creep is probably going to wake up soon." Shawn kicked the suited man. Meredith suddenly got a gleam in her eye and smiled.

"It's a strange way to do things, but with all the guards they have stationed around, I think it's our best bet." She quickly told Shawn her plan.

"I like how you think, you mighty think machine! Let's get to it."

When O'Hara, Lassiter, Gus and Henry made it to the search site, they looked at a map of where people had already searched, where people were currently searching and then picked their own places to search. They weren't sure what they were even looking for; a trash bag? A box? Just a body? They each secretly hoped it was the wrong person, and that they would find some random person instead of Shawn. Henry Spencer was still not fully convinced the video was real. There was something about it that was bugging him, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. He chalked it up to being in denial.

Shortly before sunset the search crew got a call that something was found. As they gathered around a large black box that seemed to have holes in it, they seemed to hold their breath while the box was opened. The lid popped off, revealing the body of Shawn Spencer, dressed in just the white pants, with a large gaping wound in his head. His body was covered in bruises and wounds. Jules ran to him and grabbed his arm, whispering _no_. Shawn suddenly jerked and opened his eyes.

"Jules! I knew you'd come for me!" He sat up, wincing, and smiled. Jules just stared, open mouthed, not sure what to think.

"Shawn! Um, you're alive! But, we saw you get shot!" She looked seriously confused. Lassiter charged up.

"What is going on here, Spencer? If this is another one of your little pranks, why I'll…" His hand went to his gun. Gus stepped up and nodded.

"I'll let him, Shawn. You can't put us through something like that just for fun!"

"Whoa, there Lassie! Gus! Where's the love?" He winced in pain and grabbed his side. "Ugh. That tape that you guys saw was a forgery. Not real. It was the only way I could get out. Suits guy was completely insane, so we had to trick him into thinking he had shot me." Shawn reached up and pulled the fake bullet wound off. "We figured out his plan to dump me out here, and we knew he was going to send a note letting you guys know where to find me, but we didn't know he was going to send you the video!" Shawn laid back down, still gripping his side in pain. "You know what, guys, just leave me here. I don't think I can move."

Chief Vick had told Henry about the rest of the video beforehand, so Henry knew what Shawn had just been through. He admitted to himself that he was pretty proud of his son, being able to still joke around after almost 4 weeks of captivity and a week of torture. It was very obvious to him that his son was putting on a huge front for the amount of pain he was in, so Henry spoke up.

"We need to get an ambulance for Shawn asap. We need to figure out if there's any internal bleeding or anything." Jules, who had been staring into Shawn's eyes, snapped back to reality. She heard someone else radio in for the ambulance, and the whole group was suddenly moving around doing things.

"Oh Shawn, I'm just so glad you're alive. You had us so worried!" She awkwardly rubbed his shoulder. He just smiled back at her. Gus reached down and patted his shoulder.

"Seriously, Shawn, I'm really glad to see you again. We never lost hope that we'd find you." Shawn smiled and fist bumped Gus.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Epilogue

_On a TV in a hospital room: "Reports are just now coming in that the renowned smuggling ring known for their thefts of high end electronics and drugs has just been caught at an abandoned warehouse about 20 miles northwest of Santa Barbara off the 154. The newly self appointed leader, Richter Steinbach, was found dead during the raid, having apparently committed suicide. In other news…"_ Shawn turned the TV off, sank his head back into his pillow and sighed. The past four weeks felt like a blur that he didn't want to remember. Jules had rode in the ambulance with him on the way to the hospital and stayed with him until he insisted she go home to get some sleep. At first she refused, very adamantly, but his persistence made her think he might need space. He was regretting that decision, now that he was alone in his room. Feelings of anxiety and fear kept welling up and it took a lot to suppress them. He hadn't thought recovery would end up being so difficult. After what felt like hours passed, Shawn finally fell into a troubled sleep.

Henry walked into his son's room early the next day to find Shawn asleep and shaking in a cold sweat, his face twisted in a horrible pain filled grimace. Henry reached out to him, cupping the side of his head with his hand, which woke Shawn up in a start.

"Oh Dad…" Shawn's voice broke as realization hit him.

"I know, son, I know." Henry held his son as Shawn sobbed into his chest. He couldn't remember the last time they had been like this, if they ever had. After a while, Shawn calmed down a bit.

"Thanks, Dad." Shawn fell back into his pillow and looked out the window, eyes red and puffy. "I guess the stress and everything just caught up with me." Henry just looked down at his lap, unsure of what to say.

"You know, son, I've been in rough situations but I still can't imagine what you went through. An entire week of straight torture. My son, who can't handle pain!" He winked at Shawn, and Shawn smirked back.

"Just a cover, Dad. I'm really made of iron, I just act weak to get attention. Also, to make Gus feel better." It felt good to see Shawn smiling again. "Speak of the devil!" Shawn exclaimed as Gus strolled in carrying a box of donuts and some coffee.

"Hey, Shawn, Mr. Spencer. I figured you'd rather have something tasty and delicious rather than that nasty hospital food." He placed the box on the table next to the bed and handed Shawn the coffee. Shawn murmured thanks. "Sorry, Mr. Spencer, I didn't realize you'd be here or I'd have gotten you some too."

"That's alright, Gus, I had some on the way over. But those donuts sure smell nice." Henry reached for the box.

Shawn stared at his cup, then said quietly, "It's been four weeks since I last had coffee. Or real food, for that matter." He looked up at his dad. "Four weeks, dad."

"Well now you can have all the real food you want. But don't go overboard, I'm not helping you buy a whole new wardrobe."

"Right, good one, Dad." Shawn tried smiling but it was short lived and awkward. Gus was feeling very uncertain. He had certainly never seen his best friend in such a mood. A knock on the door announced the presence of a doctor. He walked in wearing the typical white jacket and carrying a notebook.

"Good morning, Mr. Spencer. My name is Dr. Kyle Von Nostrand and I've been assigned as your psychiatrist. I know you've just been through a very traumatic time. Would you prefer to speak alone?" He gave a meaningful glance at Henry and Gus. Shawn looked down, then smiled.

"That would probably be better, as Gus here has quite the weak stomach and probably wouldn't be able to handle it." He nudged Gus with his elbow.

Gus looked indignant. "I'm tough, Shawn. You know I could handle it." Gus saw the look Shawn was giving him, then said, "But you're probably right. I'll just go wait outside."

Henry looked at Shawn. "If you need me, I'll be just outside as well." He patted Shawn's knee and followed Gus out to the hallway.

Dr. Von Nostrand came out of the room and walked up to Henry. "Henry Spencer?" Henry nodded. "I think your son is tough enough that he probably won't have many problems. We can't rule out Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, however. As long as Shawn continues with therapy, we can cut his chances of developing it down. See if either of you can get him to talk about his experience, that has shown to be very helpful in other trauma victims." He pulled out a card and handed it to Henry. "If you have any questions, feel free to call me."

Jules offered to drive Shawn to her place, since he was practically living with her anyway. They had found nothing he needed to stay in the hospital for and he was released after his psych eval. It was a rather quiet ride with Shawn just staring out the window. She found it a bit creepy and so unlike Shawn. She parked the car and got out. Shawn followed her inside, then grabbed her arm, pulled her close and kissed her with more passion than she'd felt in a long while.

"Jules… Man it's so good to be back." He nervously rubbed the back of his head before continuing. "But, we need to talk. Dr. Van NoName or whatever it was, insisted that I talk about what happened."

"Are you ok with that?" Jules asked, concerned. "I only want you to talk about what you're comfortable wi—"

"No, Jules." Shawn interrupted her. "This is something I have to do. Anyway, you, me, couch?" Jules nodded and they sat down. Shawn looked around, uncertain. Shawn coughed and then winced. "Oh man, it still hurts. You'd think it'd stop hurting by now."

"Do you need me to get you more pain killers?" Jules started to get up. Shawn shook his head.

"Not now. Maybe I'll down an entire bottle for lunch and then take a nice long nap…" Seeing Jules' horrified expression, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" He smiled, then became somber again. "Anyway, what were you told about what happened?"

"Well, the chief told me that they had you chained up in a tiny cell, and um, that they tortured you."

Shawn kind of nodded. "So I guess you didn't see the videos." He ran a hand through his hair. "That's good."

"If you don't mind my asking, how do you feel about the whole thing?" Juliet put her hand on his leg. Shawn shrugged and put his hand on hers.

"I guess I'm still just processing it. Certainly confused! Everything seemed to blur together, and there was no reasoning other than the fact that the guy was a raging psychopath!" Shawn's voice started rising in volume and he seemed very agitated. "I only wish I could have tortured _him_ for days on end, see how he likes it."

"Shawn, I know." Jules said, her tone soft and comforting. "We got the reports in that he'd been betrayed by some of his colleagues, if you can call them that, and that they had all the evidence they needed to turn him over to the authorities because they found out he was cheating them. They cut a deal with the DA. He only found out after they had told his wife, who immediately filed for divorce and that's when he tried to kill you. He ended up committing suicide. I know that's not much consolation, but it's something."

Shawn clenched his fists. "At least that sick bastard got what he deserved." Shawn looked up and breathed in deeply, held it in, then slowly released. "Thanks, Jules, that actually kinda helped." He reached behind her head and brought her close for a kiss.

"Don't worry, Shawn, you'll be back to your old self in no time. We'll work through this and it'll all just be a distant memory." Juliet got up and grabbed Shawn's hands. "Come on, let's go meet Gus for lunch. He's feeling pretty awkward and left out right now." Shawn smiled his cocky smile.

"Can't have that, now, can we!" Shawn got up to follow Jules and wondered if he should tell Gus that he really was psychic, or if he should just continue pretending. He shrugged and decided to just wing it.

The End


End file.
